Top 10 The Avengers Movie Trivia

With Marvel finally giving us all our favorite superheroes in one film, there's a lot going on on-screen, and behind the scenes. These interesting tidbits include facts about the preparation and involvement of the actors, Easter eggs, character changes, the shooting locations, the battles, enemies and even a story about Shawarma! Join WatchMojo.com as we explore ten pieces of trivia about 2012’s “The Avengers.”

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Top 10 The Avengers Movie Trivia

They are Earth’s mightiest heroes. Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today we’ll be exploring ten pieces of trivia about 2012’s “The Avengers.”

#10 – Box Office Smash

Kicking off our trivia list is a fact about “The Avengers’” astonishing box-office performance. This was the first Marvel film to pass the $1 billion mark, and since it beat the record already set by “The Dark Knight,” it became the highest-grossing comic book film ever. It was also the first movie ever to gross $200 million in America in its first three days – not too shabby for a film shot in just 92 days.

#9 – The New Hulk

To design the biggest Avenger, CGI geniuses used real-life people for inspiration: The Hulk’s muscular body was modeled after a bodybuilder and male stripper, while his face was designed to look like actor Mark Ruffalo. Unlike previous versions of the Hulk, Ruffalo also portrayed the green beast on-set through motion-capture. To get the voice just right, Ruffalo’s vocals were mixed with Lou Ferrigno’s, who starred in the ‘70s TV series.

#8 – Thor’s Diet and Costume

Playing a beefcake god isn’t easy, and neither is maintaining it. To make sure he was big and buff enough to play the Norse hero, Chris Hemsworth increased his daily consumption of protein, by adding more chicken breasts, fish, steak and eggs to his diet. His new costume showcased his chiseled arms, and paid tribute to the character’s earlier comic appearances.

#7 – The Black Sabbath Shirt

The t-shirt that Tony Stark wore during the film was a nod to “Iron Man” fans who knew that Black Sabbath was the heavy metal band that performed the iconic song, “Iron Man.” While that 1970 song was never meant to be associated with Marvel’s 1963 character, the two became inseparably connected when the song became “Iron Man”’s live-action theme.

#6 – Nick Fury

It’s safe to say that the character of Nick Fury will always be associated with Samuel L. Jackson, despite the fact that the comic book character was originally Caucasian. During the 2000s, the character was redesigned in the Ultimate Marvel Universe to look like Sam Jackson – years before he was cast in the role. Since then, Jackson became only the second actor to play the same comic book superhero in five different movies, after Hugh Jackman in “Wolverine.”

#5 – Reduced Run Time

With a movie this packed, it’s no surprise that director Joss Whedon’s original cut was over three hours long. To shorten it, Whedon cut half an hour of scenes where Captain America struggled to adjust to the present time. Thankfully, those scenes were recycled in “Captain America: The Winter Soldier.” Also, even though the movies billed Cap as the team’s founding member, he was only unfrozen in the comics in Avengers #4.

#4 – Location

Were you surprised to see your favorite heroes travel to Germany? Sorry to point this out, but those outdoor scenes were actually filmed in downtown Cleveland. You can tell because several of the city’s famous landmarks are visible if you look closely. No, that wasn’t New York City either; it was actually Ohio!

#3 – The Chitauri

This alien foe first appeared in an alternate universe Avengers comic. While the Skrulls are far more popular, Joss Whedon decided to feature the Chitauri in his first “Avengers” film as he wanted to save the Skrulls for later installments. Interestingly, like the Skrulls, the Chitauri are shape-shifters; but, that ability was not featured in the film. Their name comes from Zulu mythology, and describes serpents from the sky, which suits the way they were featured just fine!

#2 – Thanos

In this post-credit scene, the team’s future foe is revealed to be Thanos. A longtime Marvel super-villain, his name is a play on the Greek word for “death.” Coming from a powerful alien race called the Eternals, Thanos is obsessed with the demise of all life in the universe, and is searching for a relic called the Infinity Gauntlet to help him achieve this goal.

#1 – Post-Credit Shawarma Scene

Rounding out our trivia list is a fact about another, and much lighter post-credit scene. Here, we see the gang taking advantage of Tony Stark’s meal suggestion. This scene was only shot and added after the LA premiere, when the cast gathered at a local restaurant, and shot without dialog to show how tired the team was following battle. They also had to carefully hide Chris Evans’ newly-grown beard!

Are you an Avengers fan? What’s your favorite piece of Avengers trivia? For more informative trivia lists, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.